I’ll be doing some non consecutive episodes on the decline of the Hollywood Western in the 1970s. And, as with genre films in decline, there are some interesting to good ones (largely ignored by audiences) released during this period.
This episode discusses John Wayne’s trajectory from the Oscar-winning peak of TRUE GRIT into the valley of clinging to an outdated image/stubbornly staying at one with his core, tradition-bound audience (one exception being Mark Rydell’s THE COWBOYS, which shocked some 1971-72 viewers with Wayne dying from multiple gunshot wounds by primary villain Bruce Dern).
Also, the 1971 PLAYBOY interview (where Wayne let loose with racist views of Native Americans and racist/patronizing commentary on Black people) is discussed—along with my guess as to why the pushback (and yes, there was criticism at the time) did little damage to Wayne’s career.
Finally, after 1976’s THE SHOOTIST, Wayne said goodbye to the Western genre—as a commercial pitchperson for headache medicine Datril and Great Western Bank.
https://anchor.fm/terry-mccarty/episodes/1970s-WESTERNS-THE-TWILIGHT-OF-JOHN-WAYNE-e12enrl
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